Container for storage of liquids



Get. 5, 1954 O WALSH 2,690,778

CONTAINER FOR STORAGE OF LIQUIDS Filed Oct. 4, 1951 Patented Oct. 5,1954 CONTAINER FOR STORAGE OF LIQUIDS Alfred Oliver Walsh, Manchester,England, as-

signor to Dunlop Rubber Company Limited, London, England, a Britishcompany Application October 4, 1951, Serial No. 249,669

Claims priority, application Great Britain October 14, 1950 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to containers for the storage of liquids.

It is the object of the present invention to provide containers for thestorage of liquids which are, collapsible to a compact form when theyare not in use, thus facilitating the transport thereof.

According to the invention a collapsible container for a liquid,comprises a liquid-tight wall of flexible material so shaped that thecontainer when filled with liquid approximates to a spherical shape,said Wall having a vent at the top and a buoyant member attached to thevent to maintain the vent above the surface of the liquid.

Preferably the buoyant member comprises one or more inflatable rings andthe wall of the container is composed of panels such that the shape ofthe upper part of the container when filled with liquid is hemisphericalin shape and the lower half is of an oblate spheroidal shape to diminishcreasing during filling and to promote stability when filled.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure l is a part perspective view of a container constructed inaccordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container when the panels arecollapsed upon one another,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the container when the panels arefolded upon one another in a collapsed condition for transport orstorage.

As shown in Fig. l, the container comprises a plurality of panels I ofrubberise'd fabric joined together by leak-proof seams 2 and adapted totake up an approximately spherical shape when filled with liquid. Theseams extend circumferentially between two substantially diametricallyopposite points on the wall of the container, the panels being attachedin a leak-proof manner at one convergence of the seams to a metal ring 3bordering the periphery of an aperture in the container wall. A hole 5in the ring 3 is connected to a supply and delivery pipe 6 having valves!3 and i4 and the end of the container to which the ring is secured willhereinafter be referred to as the bottom of the container. Diametricallyopposite the ring a vent is formed in the container wall and aninflatable rubber ring 13 is bonded to the ends of the panels remotefrom the metal ring 3, the rubber ring 8 being concentric with the vent.

When the pipe E is coupled to a supply of liquid and the supply valve 13 is opened so that the container is gradually filled, the vent in thecontainer wall allows air to escape from the container to prevent anybuild-up of pressure during filling, while the inflated rubber ringwhich surrounds the vent and is inflated keeps the vent above the liquidlevel and prevents spilling. The container will hold any amount ofliquid within the range between empty and full, and as it is filled ittakes up an approximately part-spherical, and finally, an approximatelyspherical shape, giving support to the liquid without spillage thereof.

If it is desired to give greater stability to the container, forinstance when it is used on rough or uneven ground, the container may bemounted on a large flat foundation plate '9 with a central hole Q toreceive the metal ring 3. The foundation plate may be provided withlevelling screws l? to compensate for uneven contours of the supportingsurface. It may be made of any suitable rigid material and is preferablymade in hinged or disconnectible sections to increase portability.

To increase the stability of the filled container still further it maybe encircled by a plurality of poles I l spaced around the container andleaning outwards slightly at an angle of about 10 from the vertical. Thepoles can be supported in holes formed in the foundation plate 9 asshown, being joined together at their upper ends by bracing wires l2 andheld firm by guy wires, not shown, attached between the upper ends ofthe poles and fittings on the foundation plate or structure.

The inflatable ring 8 need not be bonded to the interior of the wall asdescribed above but may be secured thereto by a simple adhesive. Alternativel the inflatable ring may be detachably fastened to the wall, to beeasily removable to facilitate compact packing of the container fortransportation or storing.

Instead of a single inflatable ring, the buoyant member may compriseseveral inflatable rings so that if one should become damaged in use thebuoyant member will continue to function.

It is preferred that the panels are such that the shape of the filledcontainer is that of a hemisphere for the top half, and of an oblatespheroidal shape for the bottom half. This particular shape has beenfound to prevent creasing and puckering of the panels during filling andensures good stability of the container whether it is full or onlypartly full.

A detachable cover may be fitted over the opening in the top of thecontainer when in use, thus preventing the entry of extraneous materialthrough the opening and decreasing the evaporation losses of the liquid.

In Fig. 2, the container is shown collapsed and with its panelssuperimposed on one another. In Fig. 3 the superimposed panels of thecollapsed container are shown folded and held compressed in a compactshape for storage or transport by a strap and buckle l5.

Containers in accordance with the invention may be of any desiredcapacity, e. g. up to 1 ,000 gallons.

The rubberised fabric may comprise natural rubber or a synthetic rubber,the particular material chosen being dependent on the liquid to be heldin the container, i. e. a material is chosen on which the liquid has nodeleterious efiect. For example, containers for water may be proofedwith natural rubber or a butadiene-styrene copolymer, while if they arefor oil any oil-resistant rubber, e. g. a butadiene-acrylonitrilecopolymer, may be employed.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A collapsible container for a liquid comprising a liquid-tight wallcomposed of panels of rubberized fabric such that when the container isuncollapsed the shape of the upper part of the container ishemispherical and the shape of the lower part of the container is anoblate hemispheroid having a common equator with said upper part, saidwall having a vent at the top, a buoyant member attached to thecircumference of the vent, and a metal ring at the base of the wallprovided with an aperture communicating with the interior of thecontainer and adapted to be connected to a pipe exterior of thecontainer.

2. A collapsible container for a liquid comprising a liquid-tight wallcomposed of panels of rubberized fabric such that when the container isuncollapsed the shape of the upper part of the container ishemispherical and the shape of the lower part of the container is anoblate hemi spheroid having a common equator with said upper part, saidwall having a vent at the top, a buoyant member attached to thecircumference of the vent, a metal ring at the base of the wall providedwith an aperture communicating with the interior of the container andadapted to be connected to a pipe exterior of the container, and afoundation plate having a central opening to receive the metal ring.

3. A container according to claim 2 comprising a plurality of poleslocated at circumferential intervals around the foundation plate andbraced together at their upper ends around the wall of the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,052,379 Ranken Feb. 4, 1913 1,554,316 Winship Sept. 22, 19252,186,183 Trumbull Jan. 9, 1940 2,241,314 -Mohler May 6, 1941 2,287,824Pihl et a1 June 30, 1942 2,378,128 Cates June 12, 1945 2,378,159 RoyerJune 12, 1945 2,383,840 Benckert Aug. 28, 1945 2,633,172 Treiber Mar.31, 19 3

